Baghdad

/bæɡˈdæd/

noun

1.

the capital of Iraq, on the River Tigris: capital of the Abbasid Caliphate (762–1258). Pop: 5 910 000 (2005 est)

Iraq

/ɪˈrɑːk/

noun

1.

a republic in SW Asia, on the Persian Gulf: coextensive with ancient Mesopotamia; became a British mandate in 1920, independent in 1932, and a republic in 1958. The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait (1990) led to their defeat in the first Gulf War (1991) by US-led UN forces. The second Gulf War (2003) took place when Iraq was invaded by a coalition of US, UK and other forces; government elected in 2005, although there is continuing violence and resistance to the coalition presence; the last coalition troops left the country in 2011. Iraq consists chiefly of the mountains of Kurdistan in the northeast, part of the Syrian Desert, and the lower basin of the Rivers Tigris and Euphrates. Oil is the major export. Official language: Arabic; Kurdish is official in the Kurdish Autonomous Region only. Official religion: Muslim. Currency: dinar. Capital: Baghdad. Pop: 31 858 481 (2013 est). Area: 438 446 sq km (169 284 sq miles)

a pre-Islamic name apparently of Indo-European origin and probably meaning "gift of god," with the first element related to Russian bog "god" and the second to English donor. Marco Polo (13c.) wrote it Baudac.

Iraq

country name, 1920, from an Arabic name attested since 6c. for the region known in Greek as Mesopotamia; often said to be from Arabic `araqa, covering notions such as "perspiring, deeply rooted, well-watered," which may reflect the impression the lush river-land made on desert Arabs. But the name may be from, or influenced by, Sumerian Uruk (Biblical Erech), anciently a prominent city in what is now southern Iraq (from Sumerian uru "city").